Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? 1 Corinthians 6:1

When my husband and I received our first bad check, his first comment was to take them to court. I felt the need to pray and put it in God’s hands. Here’s how God worked it all out:

Rodney, a property manager for several homes, calls us when he needs fencing work. Our business relationship started off great but lately things haven’t been going so well, for Rodney that is. Apparently he has too many properties, no organizational skills, and now as I look at the returned check in my hand with a big stamp across it – Insufficient Funds, no money.

I picked up the phone. “Hey Rodney, this is Karen from Town and Country Fences. How are you doing today?”

“Busy, real busy, what’s up?”

“I got a check from my bank today. It was returned for insufficient funds. It’s the one you wrote for the St. John Street job”.

“No way, that can’t be. I just saw David at the bank and deposited seventeen hundred dollars. You can run that check back through. Sorry about that. It’s okay now.”

Rodney’s voice sounded shaky so I told him okay and goodbye. I looked up at my clock; it was ten minutes to five. Something in my spirit told me that Rodney had lied. I drove to the bank and arrived just in the nick of time with one minute remaining.

I presented the check to the teller and she punched away; then excused herself as she stepped over to the bank manager. I noticed his name on the pen lapel: David Williams.

David came around from behind the teller’s window. “Mrs. Story, can I speak with you a moment?”

I nodded as he continued, “I’ m sorry Mrs. Story this account does not have enough money to cover this check.”

“Really? I just got off the phone with Rodney and he said he made a deposit today.” I was starting to get a little upset and blurted out, “He is not stealing from me, he is stealing from God.”

David continued, “Rodney comes in here every day so why don’t you come back tomorrow.” He handed me the check. “I’ll give him a call and let him know that he needs to make this check good. You see, Rodney is a friend and he has been having some financial issues, but I think it’s time for us to have a Come to Jesus Meeting.”

In response I told him when we first started doing business with Rodney, God had given us a burden of prayer for him. We felt he had problems, but hadn’t had the opportunity to get to know him on a more personal level. We were trying to have a good business relationship and it wasn’t looking too good right now.

He went on, “I am going to call him tonight and I’ll get back with you tomorrow. But I have a question Mrs. Story: what did you mean by saying that Rodney was stealing from God?”

I love it when God opens a door for me to share with others, even if I do sound a little nutty. I told him our church had a building campaign; we prayed before we made a financial commitment. The amount God placed on our hearts was obtainable, but with some sacrificing of things like dinner out less. My brother-in-law blessed us to pieces recently by giving us Town and Country Fences. Every dime we make after bills have been paid, employees paid, we give to the church.

The phone rang the next morning with David on the other end. “Good Morning Karen I hope I haven’t called too early.”

“No. No. I was still asleep,” I responded as I pulled myself and my brain together. “I was writing a story last night, no, it was morning, 3 AM. I had to write it down so as not to forget.”

Rodney replied, “Strike while the iron’s hot. I do that too. I like to paint. Do you want to know why I called?”

“I’m sure it’s about the check. It’s good now?”

“It sure is,” he responded.

“Well isn’t that wonderful. I guess your Come to Jesus Meeting went well?”

“Yes it did.”

“Goodbye David. Thank you for calling me. I better get to the bank, you know, strike while the iron’s hot!”

The check was good but as far as our business relationship with Rodney, I can’t say for now. He hasn’t called to ask us about fences. We are just going to depend on God to do His work in Rodney and to keep blessing our business. As it is, it all belongs to Him in the first place.